Ivan Barbashev absolutely LEVELS Arber Xhekaj, taking him out of the game

Let the big dogs eat!

Big dogs Ivan Barbashev and Arber Xhekaj came together for an enormous hit this evening that must have shaken the ground beneath Bell Centre in Montreal.

The Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are in La Belle Province this evening to take on the Montreal Canadiens and there's plenty of rough stuff in a very entertaining game. 

Chasing a puck deep in the Canadiens zone, Xhekaj got absolutely BLOWN UP by Barbashev and, frankly, he looked quite surprised by just how solid of a hit that he took.

Here's the hit in question:

Xhekaj would actually leave the game shortly thereafter as he looked to be favoring his left shoulder afterward and then on the bench. He has left for medical analysis and the team has not yet made a statement regarding his status. Stay tuned.

I don't know why Xhekaj is so surprised though. Barbashev is an absolute tank, there's a reason why his nickname is 'The Cigarette Machine'. The guy is built like a vending machine and probably weighs as much too. Now Xhekaj knows what to expect when he goes into the corner with The Cigarette Machine.

For purely selfish reasons I hope that Xhekaj gets back out there for the third period just so we could have a potential heavyweight bout between the too. The 27 year old Barbashev stands at just 6' tall and weighs in at 200 pounds, but he plays like a guy that's six inches taller and 30 pounds heavier. Xhekaj meanwhile stands at 6'4" and weighs in at 240lbs. It's clear that Xhekaj would have the advantage in a tilt, but you'd think the same about a big hit too and we all just saw how that played out for both sides.

Something tells me this ain't over, though. Again here's hoping that Xhekaj doesn't miss any time in this game and that he took a number so that he an exact his revenge on Barbashev when the opportunity presents itself. Stay tuned.